What Not To Store In The Armiger
by Caillieach
Summary: Regis has a great idea, but doesn't quite think it through to the end. Also, Cor has a birthday.


**Author's Notes:**

The events in this take place about one and a half years after Cor challenged Gilgamesh and well into Regis' travels through Lucis.

I have quite blatantly played around with the official age people come of age in Lucis. We don't have any official information on it (or at least I think we don't), but eventually decided on 17 since it made the most sense for this fic. While it is more common to come of age at 16, 18 or 21 around the world, those ages would have been too soon after Cor met the Royal Retinue for this to be believable or he would have been too old to still feel so mushy and not have his face under control at all times. So, 17 it was.

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**Disclaimer:**

All publicly recognizable characters, settings, etc. are the property of their respective owners, here: Square Enix. Any possible future original characters & plots are my own. I am in no way associated with the owners, creators or producers of any previously copyrighted material. No copyright infringement is intended. I do not earn money with this.

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Hushed voices coming from his shared room with Cid were the first clue that something wasn't right and made him stop in his tracks outside the door.

"...told you we shouldn't have….in the Armiger! Now look at…" That was Clarus' rich baritone.

"But...should have done, Clarus? We couldn't….in Lestallum! Look….lilting...just a little…!" That was Regis, defending one of his usually monumentally stupid decisions they were all used to averting by the sound of it.

Cor frowned. He wasn't aware of such an idea being voiced in the last few days, not since Regis had had the great (read: terrible) idea of taking pictures with a sleeping Behemoth of all things so he could send them home and impress Aulea with them. Both Clarus and Weskham had had to put their feet down to stop that particular suicide mission.

Cor himself...well, theoretically he knew that he should have voiced his disapproval of the idea and his agreement with them more fervently but...it had sounded kind of fun? They would have been right there by Regis' side so-

"Sit yer asses down, both'o'ya, the...fine, ...not pretty….still…" Cid's unmistakable drawl interrupted his thoughts.

"Now, now, gentlemen….continue preparations...Cor…soon." It was Weskham's cultured voice that stopped the shuffling sounds reaching his ears and that made him furrow his brows suspiciously.

He couldn't be entirely certain but he was fairly sure that he had heard his own name mentioned and...what was that about preparations?

What preparations?

He had already taken care of everything for the continuation of their journey in the morning. It was the sole reason why he wasn't already enjoying a hot shower to wash the day's dust off his skin!

He stayed in indecision for only a second longer before he made his decision, grabbed the door handle and barged into the room, fully expecting to catch the rest of the Royal Retinue red handed in setting up an elaborate prank.

He did _not _expect _this _.

The scene presenting itself to him was so bizarre that it took a moment to register fully with him.

His companions were huddled around the small, ancient coffee table they had dragged into the middle of the room, frozen and staring at him like deer caught in the headlights and...was that a _cake _sitting in the middle of it?!

Well, maybe a mound of...ingredients was more accurate. If it was supposed to be a cake, it was lilting precariously to the side with some of the frosting already slid off the plate and onto the chipped, dull surface it sat on.

Disbelief visible on his features, he took their faces in, expressions varying from sheepish but hopeful in Regis' case to downright exasperated in Clarus' case who had his hands hovering around the 'cake' as if to prevent it from toppling over (with his bare hands? Really, Clarus.) to obvious in Cid's and helpless amusement in Weskham's.

It looked like a scene straight out of a bad soap opera but it didn't look like a prank as he had suspected.

"...what the hell is going on?"

It was Regis who shook the stupor off first; jumping out of his seat and spreading his arms in what looked like a presentation of some kind.

"It's a surprise! A birthday surprise!"

The excitement in Regis' voice was impossible to ignore and despite being very unimpressed with what his companions hat gotten up to _this time _, he could feel his lips twitching at his Prince whose smile had always been contagious and regularly proved a hazard to his own stern, professional expression.

Thus distracted, it took a moment for the Prince's words to register properly.

"Birthday? What birthday?"

The look crossing Regis' features are his confused question was so comical it nearly sidetracked him again. But. Seriously, whose birthday was it? He thought he knew all of their birthdays and today wasn't either of theirs.

It was Weskham who swept in to answer his question as the Crown Prince of Lucis was busy doing a very convincing display of a fish out of water, gaping at Cor as he was.

Cor felt a little uncomfortable at being regarded like this, with so much incredulity...he had settled into their group nicely after initial difficulties to find his place amongst them. It had gotten easier after Gilgamesh (he still vividly remembered the proverbial beating he had received from all of them but the worry in their voices had felt so good) but that didn't mean that he sometimes didn't still feel out of place in their midst.

"Cor, today is your 17th birthday. You are officially an adult now."

What.

"It's not my birthday."

His voice was flat, absolutely deadpan, and it conveyed exactly how unimpressed he was with the other men confusing the dates.

Cid snorted.

"'Tis definitely yer birthday, lad."

As much as he hoped it didn't, he knew Cid could read the vague betrayal in his eyes the moment their eyes met. He had thought that out of anyone in their group, Cid would remember his birthday since he had told him how excited he was to come of age more than once.

Not even the usually so organised Weskham had gotten it right; they were a few days early-

"Weskham, give me your calendar. It's not and I will prove it to -"

He stopped short as soon as his gaze fell onto the small pocket calendar Weskham handed him.

"...oh. Nevermind. Happy Birthday to me, I guess."

It was, in fact, his birthday.

Cor could feel his face heat up and the tips of his ears burned in mortification. How had he managed to lose track of time like this? To forget his own birthday-!

"Don't sweat it, Cor. It's easy to confuse things like this living on the road like we do at the moment."

As usual, it was Clarus who eventually came to his rescue. As much as the Shield liked to tease him mercilessly, Cor could always count on him to have his back when it mattered. An understanding between fellow swordsman they had reached relatively early on in their acquaintance.

Cor shot him a quick, grateful look.

"So...what. You decided that a shitty hotel room in the middle of nowhere was the perfect place to throw me a surprise birthday party?"

"Well, of course!"

Ah. Regis had found his voice again. Cor was, however, surprised by the conviction in his Prince's voice, and it must have shown.

"You're only coming of age once, Cor! We _had _to!"

"Did'ya really think we wouldn' want ta celebrate wit'ya, lad?"

"I must say I thought you knew us well enough to expect a proper celebration suitable to a once-in-a-lifetime event such as this, Cor."

All Cor could do was stare, alternating between looking at every one of them. He wasn't aware he was doing it but when he realised that, he cleared his throat, turned to finally close the door which stood open still behind him, and approached the table they had gathered around.

"I...thank you, guys." He muttered and, remembering his station, tacks a "Your Highness." on for good measure.

"Oh for the last time, Cor, call me Regis. Or Reggie."

_Reggie _clapped him on the back, grinning good-naturedly, and Cor grimaced. He appreciated the offer, he really did, but at the end of the day, _Reggie _was still the Crown Prince of Lucis and Cor was still, well, Cor. It didn't feel right. Not yet, anyway.

"So, where did you find the...cake?"

The candles were sticking up every which way, clearly in danger of toppling over and, as he had noticed earlier, the frosting was in the process of getting _everywhere _but the cake.

"His Royal Pain In The Ass here-" Clarus if ignored the indignant squawk of his best friend, amusement coating his voice heavily, "thought it was a great idea to store your birthday cake in the Armiger since we couldn't very well take it with us in the Regalia without you noticing or keeping it fresh in Lestallum's heat."

Cor snorted. He didn't know if he should laugh or cry, honestly, because that was _such _a Regis thing to do and had they really planned this so carefully that they had gotten the cake in Lestallum yesterday?

"I'm afraid it looks a little worse for wear, but I assure you that it is still edible and hasn't lost any of its flavour."

Normally, Cor was inclined to believe Weskham in all things food but - the cake did look more than a little worse for wear. Was storing fresh food in the Armiger even advisable?

The doubt must have shown on his face because next thing Cor knew was Cid poking him in the shoulder with a fork.

"Oh, get'off yet chocobo, lad, 'tis still good an' won't poison ya."

Right.

Given the thing's resemblance to pictures of Ravatogh after an eruption he had seen as a kid, he had his reservations about believing him. But...they had gone to all this trouble for him.

Determined, Cor grabbed a fork, stabbed it into what looks like the chocolate volcano's magma current and-

The rich flavour of Southern Duscae's famous chocolate exploded on his tongue and overwhelmed his senses for a moment.

Oh.

Oh but it _did _taste _really _good. Not too sweet with just enough bitterness to tell him that it was the good, dark chocolate in this he preferred to the much sweeter milk chocolate - and was that a hint of orange liqueur? The others had been right as difficult as it was to believe it in this case. The cake was _delicious _.

The others laughed at him when he dug in for seconds before he had even swallowed the first bite but he didn't care. It was his birthday cake, he could eat as much of this as he wanted and if they wanted him to share this chocolatey goodness with them, they'd better stop teasing him soon.

He said as much which prompted a mad scramble at Regis' and Clarus' (the chocolate fiend) side whereas Weskham calmly handed a plate to Cid and Cor. Oh, right. Plates were a good idea.

It didn't take them long to devour the whole cake but considering that they were five grown men - well, still growing in his case, much to the chagrin of Weskham who continued letting out seams to make his clothes fit longer - so it really shouldn't have come as a surprise.

Cor felt pleasantly full and drowsy despite the sugar cursing through his veins. Cid had whipped out a few bottles of Myrlwood Ale shortly after distributing the cake between them, citing that he was legally allowed to drink now and 'here, have ya first beer, lad. Cheers!' and he felt the alcohol sitting warm in his belly, now.

He could probably go to sleep right in this moment, surrounded by his compan- friends, his mind cautiously supplied -, basking in the warm afterglow of such an unexpectedly nice evening.

A finger was poking his side and he growled, letting his gaze wander until it settled on Regis. He glowered halfheartedly at him and swatted his hand away.

"Don't…"

Regis, despite having eaten just as much as Cor and should by all rights be in a similar food coma to his own, grinned surprisingly awake back at him.

"Cooor, you can't sleep now, we haven't done gifts yet!"

Oh, but the whine in his voice came out which Cor had only experienced a handful of times. The Prince was definitely buzzed although his speech wasn't slurring yet. His own buzz slowed his reaction time down significantly, though, much to his displeasure.

"Gifts?"

It was Clarus, sounding surprisingly sober despite the three beers and copious amounts of sugar he had inhaled, who answered him.

"It is tradition in Lucis that a young man coming of age receives a wrist watch to acknowledge this milestone of growing up and becoming an adult. A coming of age watch is meant to be with the recipient for the rest of his life."

Cor swallowed. He had heard of the tradition but. Predominantly it was a tradition for _rich _people who could afford those beautiful watched he had seen on display on his few trips into Insomnia's shopping district.

There was no way his family would have been able to afford one for him and besides….it didn't matter anymore.

Weskham's smooth bass stopped his thoughts from spiralling too far into the past and Cid nudging his leg underneath the table did the rest to anchor him in the present.

"We have taken the liberty of procuring such a watch for you, Cor." He gave him a reassuring smile. "Regis, if you would?"

Blue sparks at the edge of his vision demanded Cor's attention and he turned to his Prince on his right side. Who was holding a small, black box tied with a shimmering, golden bow.

"Happy Birthday, Cor."

Regis' eyes crinkled with his smile, the happiness and satisfaction of being the one to make this important gesture in his life shining in his eyes. Not for the first time Cor was reminded of why he followed this man through thick and thin and a fair number of ill-advised ideas as he accepted the box hesitantly.

"Well? Whaddaya waitin' for, hmm? Open it."

Cid was grinning expectantly as well when he shot him a short look. Cor didn't really care to unravel the complicated mix of feelings warring inside of him, so he focused on the warmth of being surrounded by their small ragtag group instead of the wish of sharing this moment with his parents.

Well. There was really nothing else to do but to open his gift.

Discarding the bow, he flipped the box open- his breath caught in his throat.

The watch was beautiful.

A deep, velvety black - so dark it seemed to swallow the light - with thin, golden hands. It was elegant yet understated; definitely not the elaborate, eye catching designs both Weskham's and Regis' watches spotted. Cor liked it. It...felt right, fit him.

He liked this much better than the opulent watch he had almost expected and was relieved that they must have known he wouldn't appreciate such a show of wealth. A wealth that he didn't have in the first place.

There was a pair of softly shimmering golden cufflinks spotting the skull of the Lucis Caelum's gleaming beside the watch.

"Go on, look at the back, Cor."

Looking briefly at Clarus, Cor did just that.

His breath caught for the second time within a few minutes.

The symbol of the Crownsguard had been engraved in a soft gold on the back of the watch, acknowledging his affiliation with the Crownsguard and the Lucis Caelum line and-. His initials had been elegantly woven into the design.

How long had they been planning this? The watch couldn't have been customised like this on a whim.

Cor had a suspicious lump in his throat when he looked up from the box in his lap and met the eyes of his...of his friends.

"Thank you."

He didn't think he was entirely successful in concealing how much this gift, the entire surprise birthday party, really, meant to him judging by the soft, open looks the others bestowed on him but for once, he didn't really mind all that much.

"Ya shoulda seen these idjits plan, lad."

Cor directed his attention to a grinning Cid. Count on him to divert attention to give him a moment to compose himself. Bahamut help him, but he loved the old geezer.

"Reggie, the dunderhead, wanted ta get ya a chocobo. A chocobo! Titan's pants, wha' would 'e need a chocobo for, Reggie?!"

A chocobo. What?

The entire idea was preposterous and startled a laugh out of him.

The resulting energetic but friendly argument about appropriate gifts that ensued while he dissolved into laughter would become a memory he'd cherish for the rest of his life.

It was the moment he realised that he had found good friends, a place where he belonged, maybe even a new family.

It was the best birthday Cor ever had.


End file.
